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"SUMMARY: SES did high quality work. They stuck to the projected cost. They finished within the estimated timeframe (or at least close enough). PRELIMINARY STAGES: SES promptly returned our initial call and set up a visit by their estimator. Within a very reasonable timeframe (maybe a little more than a week), we had the estimate in hand. In contrast, we were shocked to see how difficult it was to deal with some other contractors--even in the early stage, when we were trying to give them business. DETAILS OF THE JOB: They gutted ~50% of a ~180 sq ft bathroom to the studs; did some framing/re-framing; removed a large tub and patched in some hardwood; completely re-did the mortar bed/tile/plumbing for the shower; re-routed an HVAC intake to a different part of the house; moved/added some plumbing and electrical; installed a new commode and tile floor in a new toilet closet; hung crown molding; installed a double vanity with a stone top; hung a large mirror and frameless shower door; built out 2 closets. QUALITY. Their renovation was high quality and fit perfectly into our 1930’s arts-and-crafts home. They found, sanded, and painted an old 5 panel door to match the doors in rest of the house. The salvaged/refinished pine floor fits into the existing pine floor seamlessly, and the new trim work matches that in the rest of the house. Their tile guy did an outstanding job on the shower—floor to ceiling with a bullnose and a niche. The subs they used for the vanity/stone top and for the mirror/shower door did a high quality job. We designed our closets and the trim carpenter built them out perfectly (soft-close drawers and all). COMMUNICATION. This was a big asset to the SES experience. Ashley kept us posted with an email almost every day. We knew what to expect when we got home from work, as well as what to look for the next day and the rest of the week. In the rare event that there were surprises or delays, Ashley would let us know right away as well as what the resolution would be. While Ashley was the main line of communication, the owner, Shawn, was very accessible as well when necessary. PROFESSIONALISM. All the people we interacted with were professional and punctual. The workers were respectful of us and our home, and they did a great job cleaning up every day. With very few exceptions, people were at the house every weekday (and even some weekend days), from the start to the finish of the project. THE UNEXPECTED. As the work proceeded, some minor structural damage from the old shower had to be addressed and the hot water heater needed some repairs. These were taken care off in a time- and cost-efficient manner. Otherwise, there were a few miscommunications regarding the electrical rough ins, a plumbing valve, the closet build outs, and the shower door. All these were very minor and easily addressed. Along the way—and especially as things neared the end—Shawn made sure we had everything exactly the way we wanted it. This was our first time hiring a contractor. Before our renovation, we had heard many contractor-related horror stories. Our experience with SES was drastically different. We are already scheduling another project with them."

"Bob's price was in line with other quotes I got for the work.  The work began later than promised.  Apparently, the company misplaced my email with the signed contract.  That said, they DID put me in the queue as if they had received the email when I sent it, so it was only delayed about 1 week.  The worker showed up on time and spent about 5 hours repairing the porch.  He came back the next day and painted - another 4-5 hours total.  The problems with the work were this:  He repaired the holes and was able to make one side of the stucco look smooth, yet the side that the holes had been on was finished in a manner that makes the edifice of the lower part of the porch look very different on one side than on the other side.  The person who did the repair obviously used some sort of Bondo mixture to create a surface, which is fine, but why not smooth out the finish so that it looks like the side that did not need the Bondo mixture?  In addition to the surface smoothness issue, the paint job on the porch cap and steps (where people actually walk) is already started to peel, and little spots of red (the previous color of the porch) are showing up beneath the new blue paint.  This happened within 1 week of the work.  It seems like I shouldn't have to touch up/repaint portions of my porch just 1 week after they did the work.  The price, for 9-10 hours of work, seems to be a bit much.  Subtracting the cost of materials, we're looking at about $100-$125/hour for labor for a job that wasn't done very well.  
I emailed Bob several times after the work was done and he referred me to an email he sent where it stated that "It would certainly be better to replace the stucco.  I can only do repairs.  You would need a stucco person to take the old off and replace completely.  It will be more costly, but a permanent fix."  Fair enough, Bob, but the word "repair" means to "make as close to new as possible".  I wasn't asking for the worker to remove and replace stucco, but to "repair" it means to make it look smooth and uniform across the whole lower portion of the porch.  I eventually talked to Bob on the phone and he kept repeating "we don't know how to do stucco", yet, somehow, they DID know how to create a Bondo-type mixture and repair holes, etc.  If you can spread a mixture onto the edifice of a wall, you can spread it on evenly and smoothly (which they didn't do).  The end result was that Bob refused to have the work redone or actually fully "repaired".  So, I have a newly painted porch that has a lot of spots where the old paint is coming through, and a porch lower portion that shows very clearly where repairs were made.  It just looks bad overall.

Update 10/1/15
After reading Bob's Painting's response, I contacted them and asked them to make good on their promise to come and add another coat of paint to my porch.  They said that they would be able to do that, an a few weeks later, they did come and add another coat of paint to my porch cap.  I appreciate the follow up with this."

"Excel Renovations did an OUTSTANDING job in handling our home repairs need following two separate hurricanes. In both instances we found their work to be superior and the work was done on time and on budget. We know them to be reliable and dependable - and will certainly use them again in the future, as the need arrises."

"The job was started immediately. They finished promptly. The stucco on the front of the house was done as well as the chimney. Looks good.
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"We were very pleased with the results of this project beginning with the presentation at the time of the "free estimate" and would highly recommend this company. My calls were always returned within an hour and the representative was consistently cooperative, personable, and followed through on "making us happy"! One person completed this job and was awesome! He was considerate and very professional while working both inside and outside of our home . He noticed a couple of issues with the windows before installing them and replacements were ordered so that everything was done properly. We were really glad that he was so observant and detail oriented. The painter who painted the back door did an excellent job as well! He was very thorough and the door looks fantastic.
  There were a couple of minor issues that arose after this job was done, but when I called to discuss these, the representative had them taken care of the next day. 
  The windows have made a huge difference already in both the comfort and external noise levels as compared to the old windows. As I stated beforehand, we are VERY HAPPY with this company and would recommend their services to anyone interested in replacing windows. 
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"Got the last-minute siding maintenance deal.
It was a while ago, but I remember that he rescheduled a couple of times, and then when he did come he was late and seemed irritated. He looked at the house and gave me an astronomical estimate to basically replace all the weatherboards. (I told him I knew they were in kindof rough shape, but I didn't need the whole house to be redone-- I just wanted to see if he could fix a couple of the bad ones.)  It felt like he was totally annoyed and condescending with me because my house wasn't perfect and because I live in a neighborhood that's a little rough. Seemed like he was not exactly used to being called out to an area like my 'hood.  We agreed that he could do some minimal work to at least get the value of the angie's list deal purchase. Weeks went by and nobody never called to follow up. 
Maybe he just had a bad day--everyone has one, and I understand that--but my experience was not a good one. 
I ended up calling Angie's list and they refunded my money for the deal.
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"Castillo Construction was quick to respond with an estimate, it took a bit longer to get the contract worked out.  We had wanted to start the project immediately, but our timing was bad so it took a few months to get the project going - especially with the weather delays to getting the foundation going (rain delays).  Once the foundation and initial plumbing passed inspection, the framing rough-ins went very quickly - after that it felt like it slowed down.  I will say that there was someone working on our property nearly every day. At the end, the  quality of the construction was good.  We felt the project and communication could have been a bit smoother - we thought that project delays could have been communicated more proactively.  However, Castillo completed the project and they have been responsive to any punch list items that came up afterward.   Overall, I would recommend them - the completed project is very nice.  There are always areas to improve, so we included a list of what went well and would could be improved.   None of the comments below would prevent me from recommending them to anyone else or from contracting with them again!   

PROS/What Went Well:
Good quality/good price
Quick to provide estimate/quote
Very knowledgeable of the construction/engineering industry
Professional home construction
Licensed/insured - pulled all permits and passed all inspections
Trustworthy crews/subs
Cleaned up work site
Responds to punchlist follow-up
CONS/Areas to Improve:
Improve communication with project manager and customer
Took longer than expected 
Sometimes didn't show for scheduled meetings without cancelling/contacting us
Could improve the materials selection/acquisition process for the items that Castillo purchases (we had to re-select materials on a few items)
Some of the work arounds/issues that came up during the renovation were decided by the crew onsite and resulted in re-work when reviewed later
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We are a family owned company with 18 years of professional experience. You can be sure that we are the best at what we do. Give us a call today!

"Richard was extremely professional and honored the quality of workmanship! My sun exposed foyer flooring is now resistant to sun fading and water damage. Doug measured carefully and transformed my general foyer appearance with the diagonal design. The edges, trim work and baseboard paint jobs were impeccable! I plan to use this company for bathroom remodeling.



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Capstone Enterprises, L. L. C. is fully licensed and insured. Capstone has earned several awards including awards for Historic Preservation and Maintenance Services. We have served as a Consulting Contractor to insurance companies, engineers and architects, corporations and private property owners. Capstone Enterprises is a member of the"Building Trades Association". We offer Military and Senior Citizen Discounts and a Friends & Rewards Program.